Bradley Cooper In, Jude Law Out On Jane Got A Gun

The revolving door for the movie "Jane Got A Gun" continues to spin, and Bradley Cooper has become the latest person to enter the production.

It was announced Friday afternoon that Cooper would be joining the cast of the upcoming western, with Natalie Portman on board as leading lady and producer. Cooper will be playing the villain of the piece, a role that went without an actor following the departure of Jude Law in March.

"Jane Got A Gun" was already generating plenty of headlines in the movie industry press before a single foot of film was shot. The film was originally to be directed by Lynne Ramsay, the respected British filmmaker behind "We Need To Talk About Kevin" and "Morvern Callar," and was to star Portman, Michael Fassbender, and Joel Edgerton. However, a week before shooting was scheduled to begin in mid-March, Fassbender dropped out of the project, citing schedule conflicts with "X-Men: Days of Future Past."

Ramsay then moved Edgerton into Fassbender's role as the male lead, a man from Portman's past who helps her defend her farm after outlaws attack her husband. Jude Law next signed on to replace Edgerton was a vicious gunman. However, Ramsay failed to report to the set on the first day of production, and quit as a result of creative disputes with Portman's co-producers.

Filmmaker Gavin O'Connor, whose credits include "Warrior" and "Pride and Glory," then joined the production as the new director for "Jane Got A Gun," but that announcement was followed by word that Jude Law opted to leave, as he had joined the cast specifically to work with Ramsay.

Now, weeks later, things seem to be back on track as Bradley Cooper has been announced to be joining the cast. This should be good news for investors, who were said to believe the film had lost some valuable star power after Fassbender left the project. Following "Silver Linings Playbook" and with the much-hyped "Hangover Part III" on the way, Cooper is likely a bigger box office draw than Fassbender, and that should be some real help for production that hasn't had a whole lot of great press thus far.